The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has called for purely international processes, including potentially referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the only remaining options for securing justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

Reconciliation and ending impunity in Sri Lanka still remain a top priority, a senior French diplomat has said, despite the country’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsoring UNHRC resolutions on accountability, reconciliation and human rights.

The Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) released a statement earlier this week, calling for an international criminal tribunal to be pursued in order to prosecute those responsible for mass atrocities in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary hit back at Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week, denying reports that the security forces had been threatening Tamil families of the disappeared, and claimed these were part of efforts to “discredit” Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a statement detailing the repeated failure of Sri Lanka to establish “a trustworthy domestic mechanism to address impunity” and urged the UN Human Rights Council to "create an international accountability mechanism as a matter of urgency".

On Thursday at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 43^rd session, several countries reacted to Sri Lanka’s withdrawal of co-sponsorship from council resolutions on promoting accountability, reconciliation and human rights on the island.

Most countries expressed disappointment and concern at Sri Lanka’s decision.

A Tamil woman who has been protesting for more than three years, demanding information on her forcibly disappeared grandson, passed away on Wednesday.

A group of Tamil torture survivor, who suffered rights violations at the hands of Sri Lankan security forces, wrote to the UN human rights chief earlier this week, criticising her failure to acknowledge ongoing torture on the island.

Your report this week… caused us great hurt and anguish,” said the letter. “You erased us from the record.”

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister spoke out against member states who had expressed disappointment at Colombo’s withdrawal from a UN resolution this morning, as he launched a staunch defence of the Sri Lankan army chief who was recently subjected to sanctions by the United States.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her “regret” at the Sri Lankan government’s announcementof officially withdrawing co-sponsorship of a resolution and called on the Human Rights Council to “to remain alert to this situation in terms of prevention and to explore all possible avenues for advancing accountability”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister has officially announced the country’s decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council resolutions ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.

The paramilitary leader Pillayan who is in detention over the 2005 assassination of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham has had his remand extended by the Batticaloa High Court.

Tamil journalist Puniyamoorthy Sathiyamoorthy, who was killed by Sri Lankan army shelling in the ‘No Fire Zone’ 11 years ago, was commemorated in Batticaloa this week.